Gertrudis Gomez de Avellanda

Gertrudis Gomez de Avellanda (1814-1873) was a Cuban born writer who left Cuba for Spain when she was twenty-two. Of her many plays, poems, and stories, her most memorable and celebrated novel was Sab, published in 1841. Banned in Cuba, "Sab" is the story of a Cuban slave who falls in love with the white women who owns him, and the sacrifices he made for her. "Sab’s" story is comparable to "Uncle Tom’s Cabin", and its support for the abolition of slavery. "Sab", like much of Avellanda’s work, was published during Latin American Progress, a time when women had limited rights and freedoms.

References

*Chasteen, John Charles. "Born in Blood and Fire". 2nd ed. London: W. W. Norton & Company, 2006.